moth balls

[moth]

i am addicted to moth balls. and i dont know what to do to stop. i have been at it since i was 16 and it has gotten alot worse. no one knows and i dont know who to talk too. PLEASE HELP ME

[bloodrage88]

hey moth yur not alone. im also absolutly addicted to eating mothballs. i dunno i think its the smell and taste that im so drawn and attracted to. no one knows this and i also have anemia but its not as severe. i always wonder y nothing happens to me after sooo much ingestion..im sure some kinda damage must be happening inside me but im not aware of it. i hope one day i can stop but seeing how i crave for it so badly i dunno how thats gonna happen. i guess im gonna be at it till something really bad happens. =( i know this is crazy and that i need serious help but i dunno where to go and its also very embarrassing..

[dogbreath701]

I was hospitalized with anemia from my love of sniffing mothballs. It was for me also a childhood memory thing and as an adult I sought them out, the napthalene ones were my favorite.

My red cell blood count was so low that I needed 6 transfusions of blood to stabilize my system. They doctors could not figure out what was wrong, but I knew, and was to embarrased to say.

They smell wonderful, but don't do it!

[Mattanna]

Wow!! I am in shock at what I am reading bc I used to do this.  I remember when I was a kid, my Mom had moth balls in the house... and I used to LOVE the way they smelled... so much that my mouth would water... I would open the box and sniff them...  chip small pieces off... chew it and spit them out. I don't do this anymore, bc i don't have moth balls in my house, and after reading that it is a true addiction, I won't buy them.  I have an obsession with smells and I smell everything.  I love the smells of lemon pledge, bleach, cleaning products, lemons in general, gas, glue, markers, anything lemon flavored, candles, detergent, Sporicidin soap is one of my favs... I just love the way certain things smell so much that I sorta wanna eat them lol... not that I do..but it's a thought that crosses my mind.  I just LOVE smells.  I never realized this was a true issue for people and thought I was just a strange child and alone in this.  I just told my husband that I used to do the moth ball thing, and he is the 1st  person I ever told.  He looked at me like I had 5 heads LOL.

[pattifan]

Sadly this is no longer by any means a rare problem.

It occurs in all age groups, not just teenagers, and in all countries.

There have been 4 requests for help on this list alone.

It has killed a number of people.

[Jimmy1975]

Found this on line ...Some teenagers are using mothballs to get high, a trend that may be underreported, researchers say.

Reuters reported July 27 that users place mothballs, which contain paradichlorobenzene, in a bag and inhale from it for about 10 minutes. Some users also chew mothballs. The term "bagging" has been used to describe the habit.

Mental impairment, loss of coordination, and scaly skin may be symptoms of mothball abuse. Paradichlorobenzene, also found in air fresheners and insect repellents, can cause anemia and liver and kidney failure.

One French teen found sniffing mothball fumes took six months to recover; a twin sister took three months. Researchers noted that only three such cases have been reported but said the habit may be more widespread.  Wow !  Jimmy

[pattifan]

Hi Sniffinballs and welcome to the forum.

I would have to say that your drugs of choice (mothalls AND other solvents) are probably amongst the most dangerous ones of all.

You probably know that mothballs come in two types. One contains camphor and one contains paradichlorobenzene. Here in the UK, camphor is now a schedule one poison, because of the number of people it has killed. p-DCB isn't much better, and causes liver cell death, amongst many other effects. These are poisons designed to kill moths, not just deter them, and if they can kill moths.....

Strictly speaking it isn't an addiction, in that it is not associated with a withdrawal syndrome. It can however create a strong psychological dependency with cravings.

You do need to strongly consider quitting all solvents, before the damage is done.

You will need support to this. Ideally your family doctor is best placed to help you, but if you can't face that, these's loads of encouragement and support available right here on the list.

Take care.